


From the Ashes

by Ceallaigh



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Ficlet, Gen, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-31
Updated: 2010-01-31
Packaged: 2017-10-06 21:47:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/58092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ceallaigh/pseuds/Ceallaigh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Originally posted 7 May 2005 at Summer_of_Spike.</p>
            </blockquote>





	From the Ashes

It was nearly dawn by the time the flames had engulfed the parlor. They licked at the heavy curtains as the ceiling collapsed with a loud crash. Smoke billowed from the windows, and the horses in the stable uneasily neighed. The fire brigade would be there soon. But it would be too late, the house and its occupants would be long lost before the first fire fighter would ever arrive.

Lamp oil and a match were all it took to erase what he had done to his mother. Widow and son lost in conflagration, that's what the paper would read the next day. No vampires. No murder. Just a horrible tragedy for all to mourn. No one would think otherwise, his sins lost among the smoldering ashes.

He watched from the shadows as the small crowd began to gather on the street. Somewhere in the alley, his lover waited, dancing to a tune that only she could hear. He knew they needed to leave soon. The sun was coming, he could feel it prickling his skin as the first fingers of dawn crept above the sleeping city.

If he closed his eyes, he could still feel the heat from the blaze lap at his face. He lingered a bit longer, not quite ready to move on just yet.

"Time to go, darling," she called to him, drawing him from his thoughts with a tug at his sleeve.

He nodded, pausing for a moment to wipe his eyes. The soot, he lied to her, but was sure she knew otherwise. One last glimpse, a silent farewell, and William turned his back on his past and slipped into the darkness of a world that, for the first time, welcomed him into its darkness.


End file.
